


Beware the Creeper

by taylorjacksonandtheolympians



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, Ghost Hunters, Implied/Referenced Character Death, based on a real location and ghost sighting (not mine), mentions of real-life torture and experimental surgery, mentions of spirits, some beloved ST characters are ghosts in this (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 01:50:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19984081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylorjacksonandtheolympians/pseuds/taylorjacksonandtheolympians
Summary: You and your fellow hunter, Nyota, get trapped in an abandoned hospital with Leonard and Jim, who are just looking to find proof of ghosts.





	Beware the Creeper

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr 10-31-17
> 
> https://yallneedtrek.tumblr.com/post/166983875169/beware-the-creeper

You pulled up the long drive leading to the entrance to the hospital around dusk. Glancing over to Nyota, she smiles at your apprehensive expression.

“Are you sure we have to take this case? The kid wasn’t hurt, he just got scared,” you ask her.

“Yes, YN. A teenage boy saw an apparition, and when he tried to flee, couldn’t get the door to open. He was stuck on the fourth floor for two hours before he was able to leave.”

You mumbled under your breath something about nosy kids having to break into haunted buildings to get their kicks, while Nyota got out of the car and opened the trunk, grabbing her duffel bag.

“How about once we finish here, we can take a small break from cases and relax. Sound good?”

You vacate the driver’s seat and join her behind the car, grabbing your own gear. “I guess, Ny. This place just gives me the creeps. Give me a ravenous vampire or a wendigo any day, but a haunted hospital?” You give a slight shudder at that. “I am not a fan of this.”

“I know hospitals weird you out, just give it a night at least. If we don’t find anything here, we move on,” your best friend told you, placating.

“Okay, okay. There’s not anybody here, right?”

“They closed their overnight tours for the season, we should be alone.”

“Then let’s go,” you said, your voice laced with faux enthusiasm.

The two of you walked to the front of the building and opened the main entrance, the padlock already having been busted. You walked in, your heavy-duty flashlight illuminating the way, Nyota by your side.

Looking around the dilapidated first story, you suppress another shudder. The building seems empty except for plaster falling from the walls and dead leaves and debris coming in through broken windows. You give a sigh and follow Uhura’s lead down the hallway.

Neither of you notice the van pulling up in front of the abandoned sanatorium, and you also don’t notice two bickering men entering the building loaded down with camera equipment. It’s only when they come within earshot and Nyota’s head pops up from around a corner that you notice anything off.

“Do you hear that, YN,” Ny inquires in a hushed tone.

“Yeah,” you trail off, listening. “Are there people here? That doesn’t sound like an apparition.” Nyota pulled you into a patient room while two men walked closer and their words became clear.

“And why do we have to spend our time here?” The man with dark hair said, and his companion gave him a playful glare as you spied from behind a door. “All I’m sayin’ is, we could be somewhere else. There’s a place just a few miles away that’s famous for their mint juleps. I read about it online.”

“C'mon Bones, this is our job. We investigate creepy, haunted places, and we do it on camera. Waverly Hills is said to be one of the most haunted places in America. We can’t pass up this opportunity!” the tall blond exclaimed.

Before they could pass you up altogether, you stepped into their path with your shotgun raised, Uhura behind you doing the same. The blond man yelped and dropped his pack while ‘Bones’ just muttered curses under his breath, raising his hands in defense.

“It’s obvious y'all aren’t cops, so who are you,” you question them.

The pretty blond with electric blue eyes steps forward, his hands also raised. “My name is James T. Kirk and this,” gesturing to the handsome brunet with hazel eyes, “is Leonard McCoy. We’re supernaturalists, we travel the country recording ourselves in haunted locations. We’re just here to film.”

Nyota stands up from where she was kneeled checking the dropped bag. “That checks out. They just have camera equipment and snacks in the bag.”

Giving them a look that simply said 'really,’ the blond dropped his hands and whined defensively, “I get low blood sugar.”

You rolled your eyes and lowered your shotgun that was filled with rock salt, and turned around to retrieve your duffel bag from where you left it in the other room. You returned to find Nyota standing in front of James and Leonard with her arms crossed.

“I’m sure you can find the way out,” Ny says, practically shooing them away.

“Wait wait,” Leonard as you learned, butt in. “Now you know why we’re here, but why are you two lurkin’ around here all by yourselves?”

You snort attractively. “That’s not your concern, and don’t you worry about us being alone, we can handle ourselves.”

“Not to piss off the people with shotguns, but we’re staying. We came here to do a job and we’re not leaving until it’s done,” blue eyes stands his ground.

“Listen James, we have a job to do. So find your way out, or we’ll show you out,” Nyota said calmly but with a quiet authority in her tone. James and Leonard grabbed their belongings and turned around, heading in the direction of the exit.

You waited a few moments before you spoke again. “So now that those bozos are gone, ready to get started?” Ny agreed and you both headed towards the fourth floor, starting to search for cold spots.

Meanwhile, the supernaturalists were sneaking their way through the hospital, filming.

“My name is Jim Kirk and I’m coming to you from Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. This building opened it’s doors as a tuberculosis hospital in 1910, and later renovated in 1926 to accommodate more patients. Over the years, thousands of men, women, and children spent time in this hospital for treatment. Many patients died from the disease itself, but many were subjected to bizarre and barbaric experimental treatments. Waverly Hills closed in 1961 only to be re-opened as a geriatric sanatorium a year later, where horrible conditions and mistreatment led to many more fatalities, and was shut down by the state. With such a tragic history, it is not surprising how much paranormal activity and strange happenings take place here. We’re here communicate with some of these spirits, and try to help them find their way to their final resting place. Come with us as we explore this border between worlds.”

With the beginning monologue for their episode recorded, Leonard stepped out from behind the camera. “You sure like to hear yourself talk, don’t you?”

“Don’t be mean, Bones. The viewers needed some backstory.”

Bones let out an unconvinced “uh-huh” and picked up his tripod, folding it up. “Where to next?”

“I think we should go to the upper levels, there have been a few suicides in room 502, so we can start there.”

When they were passing by the fourth floor, though, Leonard noticed that the door was left cracked, where it was supposed to be closed and locked. Putting up a hand to stop his friend from passing, Len crept closer to the door and pushed it open a little more. Before he could turn back around, Jim pushed past him and went bounding into the main hallway of level four.

“We’ve gotta check this out,” Jim yelped happily.

Bones let out a loud shushing noise and followed cautiously after his friend, trying to prevent him from doing something stupid.

“Jim, those women are still here somewhere, and I don’t want another shotgun barrel shoved in my face.”

“Relax, Bones, I’ll be careful,” Jim says right before he trips over a section of the floor that had fallen in, hollering and catching himself last minute against the wall right beside him. Turning back around, he faced his friend with a sheepish smile. “That was an accident.”

“You are such an infant sometimes,” Bones grumbled as hecautiousl made his way into the same hallway as Jim, leaving the door to the stairwell open behind him.

“Did you hear that,” you question Nyota as you’re both inspecting the fourth story. She shrugs and keeps watching her EMF meter. “I’ll be back,” you say distractedly, already cocking the shotgun in your hands. You make your way out of the patient room you were in and cautiously turn the corner into the hallway, your face dropping into a sneer when you saw the source of the noise.

Standing before you were the two men you and Ny had sent away earlier, Leonard and James. “Are you freaking kidding me,” you say with a clenched jaw.

“Nice to see you again,” the blond smirks.

“I thought we told you to leave.”

“And I thought we told you that we weren’t leaving until we did what we came to do,” he bit back.

You roll your eyes and turn away from the nuisances, making your way back to Uhura. Walking across the uneven floor, you hear more than feel, the two following in your footsteps, literally. You decide to leave it alone for now, preventing yourself from making rash decisions.

As you walk back into the large patient room, Nyota looks up from her task. “Did you find out what the noise was?”

You just walk to the side of the door, letting your two shadows make their way into the open space beside you. “We have company,” your voice monotone.

Her almond eyes narrow on the men in question before looking to you. “I thought they left.”

“Me too. I guess they just sneaked around the first floor before coming up the stairs.”

You both turned to look at them. “Listen you two, I don’t care what you do. You could dress in drag and do the hula, as long as you do it somewhere else. Have I made myself clear,” Uhura sassed at them, and you gave them a smug smile.

“Ladies, I’m sure we can work something out. We can both just work around each other, we don’t even have to be on the same floor,” the one named Leonard said.

You and Ny have a silent conversation, coming to a decision. “Fine,” she speaks out loud after a moment. “as long as you two promise to keep clear of the fourth floor, we guess you can stay.” James pumps his fist in the air, and Leonard grins. “We’ll walk you to the stairs to make sure you actually leave this time.”

“Done! Deal,” blue eyes replies readily.

“Lead the way,” you gesture for them to walk in front of you.

As the four of you are walking through the cluttered hallway, James breaks the silence. “Y'know, I never caught your name,” he flirts with Nyota.

“And you’re not going to,” she replies confidently. He keeps speaking, shameless.

“Well my name is James, but you can call me Jim. Or you could just call me.” Jim’s buddy rolls his eyes and you snicker at the glare on your friend’s face. You reach the door that leads to the stairwell and stop, not resisting the smirk on your face as you bid them good luck in the ridiculously haunted abandoned sanatorium.

Jim pulled on the door to the stairwell, but it wouldn’t budge. “What the- it won’t open!”

“Let me try.” All four of you attempted to open the door with increasing intensity. The door may have been heavy, but the problem was more than that.

“Guys, stop. Its obviously not going to open for us. There must be somebody keeping us inside.”

“Somebody?” Leonard spoke.

“Something,” you clarified. “We should go back to the room, we can try to come up with a plan to get out.”

Once you’re back in the patient treatment room, Leonard pulled his phone from his pocket and frowned down at it. “I don’t have any service to call for help.”

“Of course not. Whatever is keeping us in here obviously don’t want us to leave.” Nyota said, then turned to you. “YN, can you find us a way out of here?”

“I can try,” you said with little confidence. You bent over and picked up your duffel bag, placing it on one of the beds to dig through it. You pulled out a map of the building and started to examine it by flashlight. “There are porches on every level for the patients to get fresh air, but we’re up four flights of stairs. We could be hurt, or worse, if we land wrong. If we could get to the first floor, there’s a tunnel that leads outside the grounds, they used to bring supplies in through it during winter, and also transport bodies out so the other patients wouldn’t see.”

You continue to study the map silently, trying to find some way out of the building. The others in your little group started thinking of other ways out. Nyota noticed that Jim was being uncharacteristically quiet, even for having just met him. “You okay,” she asks, bumping his shoulder with hers.

“I’m fine, its just… I’ve never been in a situation like this before. The most paranormal activity I’ve witnessed has been benevolent spirits, they weren’t trying to hurt me. I guess I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, me and YN have been in plenty of situations like this before, and we’ve always found a way out. Have trust.”

“How can I trust you if I don’t even know your name,” Jim said playfully, bumping her shoulder back.

“Uhura.” At Jim’s confused expression, she spoke again. “My name, it’s Uhura.”

“What, they don’t have last names where you’re from?”

“Uhura is my last name.”

“What, they don’t have first names where you’re from?”

“Not one that you’ll hear,” and that was the end if that conversation, for now.

“GUYS!” you exclaim. Uhura and Jim shift their attention to you, and Leonard looks up from checking the footage from his body cam.

“Did you find anything,” he asks.

“I think I did! There’s a fire escape on this floor, it leads to a set of stairs outside the building. It might be closed, though. I’ve never known a vengeful spirit to overlook something like this, but its worth a try. There’s also a kitchen on this level, we can look for salt there. I didn’t bring any in my bag.”

“Why do we need salt? And what is a vengeful spirit,” Jim asks, perplexed.

"They are usually ghosts that have been done wrong, usually by the way they died. They remain after death and try to right the wrong done to them. They act violently to try and avenge the wrong, but their obsession often leads them to hurting innocent people,” Nyota explains.

“Okay, so how do we stop it,” questions Jim.

“The best way is to burn the body. Cover it in salt and lighter fluid and light it up. Salt also keeps ghosts away. You can put it in the windows and doors or stand in a circle of it so they can’t touch you. Eventually it can get blown away with the wind, but salt works in a pinch.” You snorted at your inadvertent joke.

“How do y'all know so much about this stuff,” Leonard asks incredulously with a southern accent that you failed to notice earlier.

Uhura sighed before informing them. “I am a hunter. So is YN. We kill monsters and supernatural creatures that hurt human beings. That’s why we’re here tonight, a teenage boy saw an apparition, and was trapped on this floor for two hours. Apparently, whatever did that doesn’t like letting people leave.”

“You hunt ghosts?” When Uhura nodded in answer to Jim’s question, his jaw went slack. “That is so hot!” A perfectly manicured eyebrow raises. “And I mean that in the most respectful of ways.” Uhura rolled her eyes.

“We should split into two groups. One can check the fire escape to see if it’s open, and the other can search the kitchenette and dining area for salt.” Jim and Nyota nod in agreement, but Leonard has some concerns.

“Haven’t you ever seen a scary movie? That’s how people get killed!”

“Lighten up, Bones. It’ll be faster this way. The quicker we do this, the quicker we can go get those mint juleps you wouldn’t shut up about,” Jim says with an eyebrow wiggle.

Leonard’s eyebrow quirks up in interest, but he still doesn’t look convinced. “That’s alright, Len. I’ll protect you from the big bad ghost,” you coo sarcastically, picking up your shotgun for safety. He rolls his eyes but comes when you beckon him closer with your fingers, handing him your flashlight. “I’ll check the kitchen. You guys got the fire exit?”

“Yeah, you go on,” Ny tells you.

“Try not to make out in the middle of the hallway,” you call over your shoulder as you leave, not missing Uhura give you the finger, both you and Len laughing on your way out.

You make your way into the hallway with Leonard by your side, your shoulders brushing every few steps. You decide that if you’re going to be trapped in a building with this guy, you should at least get to know him a little better. “So Bones, huh?”

He chuckled. “It’s a nickname Jim gave me in college. It’s a long story.”

“All right then,” you say and continue to walk in silence.

“So YN, what happens if we can’t get out the fire escape?”

"A ghost’s presence is stronger at night, along with the energy they can manipulate. If we can’t find an exit, we’re likely stuck here until dawn.”

“Who do you think is keeping us here,” Leonard asks.

“Well I highly doubt it’s Timmy the ghost boy,” you joke. “There have been a lot of deaths here over the years, a lot of creepy happenings. A lot of gorey experimental surgeries were performed back in the day, trying to treat the tuberculosis, and a lot of the patients suffered painful deaths. The boy that got trapped on this floor saw an apparition of a man in a white cloak that we think was a doctor. Honestly though, it could be any number of spirits left behind.”

You were finally in the kitchenette, so you sat your shotgun down on the unsteady table and started rifling through drawers while Bones opened cabinets and searched. There wasn’t much to be desired about the small room, the wallpaper peeling in some places, and sections of drywall completely missing in others. The whole kitchen was destroyed, making it hard to walk safely through it. You didn’t find any table salt there, so you asked your companion.

“Anything?”

“Nope. You?”

“Nothing. Maybe we should check the dining room and the pantry,” you suggest.

The two of you stay together, walking side by side as you find the pantry. There is a carton of salt there and you grab it, letting out a small excited noise.

Leonard lets out an amused huff before grabbing your hand, “Let’s go tell them the good news, hopefully they have some for us.”

“Okay. Oh, wait! I left my gun in the kitchen.”

You and Leonard head back into the kitchen but you pause in your footsteps when you take a deep breath. “Is that… Do you smell something baking?”

“It smells like freshly baked bread,” Len contributes after inhaling deeply.

You cautiously step forward to grab your weapon, feeling Bones right behind you. After picking it up, you start to turn around but freeze where you stand. Before you is a transparent figure, clad in a lab coat. Before you can even take a brreath, the apparition is turning his back to you and walking into the dining room. It disappears into thin air and you let out the breath you hadn’t realised you were holding.

“So, that happened…” you say awkwardly a few minutes later, after realizing you were standing in silence. You turn to Leonard when he fails to say anything, giving him an inquisitive look. He is still staring at the space that the doctor disappeared into with his mouth gaping. It looks like he’s having a panic attack, breathing shallow, so you place your hand on his. “Hey, are you okay?”

Leonard opens and closes his mouth several times but he doesn’t make a sound. “Let’s get you back to the room, okay?” When he nods, you steer him by the shoulders towards the hallway, in the opposite direction than the spirit headed.

You are almost back to the room when you hear a shot being fired. “Ny?!”

“Jim!” Bones comes to his senses enough to start off in a sprint before you pull him back by the arm, keeping him by your side. You raise your gun and cock it, ducking into rooms one by one and making sure you weren’t taken by surprise. It feels like forever but it only takes minutes for you to arrive at your destination. You run into the patient room and see Nyota and Jim standing there, NY still had her gun raised.

“Try not to make out in the middle of the hallway!”

Jim raised an eyebrow at YN’s comment and a laugh slipped past his full lips. Nyota rolls her head in his direction, an unamused expression lining her features.

“What? I thought that was funny.”

Nyota rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night. “Let’s go,” she grabs her own flashlight and weapon, walking to the door and not looking back to see if Jim was following her. Kirk adjusted the small camera fixated on his jacket and followed a few steps behind her.

“So if they can’t find the salt, what do we do then,” Jim asked, catching up to Nyota. “I mean, this place closed down thirty-five years ago and they’re not exactly holding dinner parties here.”

“If it comes down to it, we can empty our shotgun shells. They’re filled with rock salt to make the spirits dissipate. It’s not permanent, but it keeps them away for a little while.”

A look of awe passed over Jim’s face before a large grin took over. Nyota suppressed a smirk at having impressed him, and continued walking.

“So you said you’re supernaturalists, how did you start all this,” Uhura gestures vaguely, trying to start a conversation.

“When I was a little boy, my house was haunted. Me and my brother Sam would try to communicate with the spirit. It wasn’t malevolent or anything, he was in the Navy in his youth, Captain Pike. He just seemed lost and in pain, and I promised myself that one day I would help other spirits like him move on to the next life instead of being stuck in-between worlds. I’ve spent my whole life studying paranormal entities, and I love what I do.” It was silent except for the sound of their footsteps, and Jim asked a question he had been wondering. “How did you become a hunter?”

“When I was fifteen, a vampire killed my parents right in front of me, drained their blood slowly. If Jody hadn’t showed up and killed the vampire, I would have been next. She took me in and raised me as a hunter.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Jim said softly.

“Don’t be, it’s in the past.”

They arrived at the end of the extensive hallway and located the fire exit. Jim immediately reached for the handle, pulling with all of his strength, to no fruition.

“Bila shaka hatuwezi kuondoka,” Uhura muttered to herself. “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy, whatever is keeping us here wouldn’t overlook this.”

“What now?”

“Now we go back to the treatment room and hope Leonard and YN found salt so we can last until morning when we can get out.” They start the treacherous walk back to their home base.

“I am so glad that we didn’t get stuck here alone, you guys really know what you’re doing,” Jim admits.

“Lucky for you, because you two wouldn’t last the night by yourselves.”

James opens his mouth to defend himself and his best friend when he catches Uhura’s smirk in his peripherals, sporting a small grin himself. “Good one.”

“Thank you,” Ny says proudly but her steps hesitate. Jim notices and gives her a concerned look.

“Are you all right?”

Nyota turns her head, evaluating their surroundings. “I’m fine, but we’re not alone,’ she says slowly.

Jim’s back stiffens and he turns around in a quick circle, looking for their company. When he doesn’t notice anything imediately off, he faces back around to Uhura. "There’s a shadow-figure behind us, watching from the doorway to the nurse’s station,” she says quietly.

Jim pivots and looks toward the place in question, he squints his eyes and sees what Ny is talking about. There is a dark silhouette, shaped distinctly like a man, tall and thin. Uhura calls Kirk’s name and captures his attention. “We should go back to room 423,” she said, and they started walking again, the only sounds heard were their quiet breathing and footsteps crunching on the littered floorboards.

They make it back to the room and walk inside, immediately going to Nyota’s duffel bag. While she is taking out her EMF reader and turning it on, Jim gets an uneasy feeling. His head starts to swivel, checking all around them before stopping in the corner of the large room.

“Uhura!” Jim yells in surprise, extending a hand and pointing his finger. Uhura stands up from her seat on a patient bed and turns to face the corner that Jim brought attention to. There stands another shadow, this time a woman in a patient gown, facing away from them.

Jim and Nyota watch as the shadow turns to face them, her features blurred. The woman starts inching towards them, mumbling repeatedly. As she gets closer, her words become clear. “Get out,” the detached voice croaks out.

Nyota grabs her gun, cocking it and letting out a shot when the woman is only inches away, sending salt into the apparition. She immediately dissipated, her energy going elsewhere. “Believe me, we’re trying,” Ny says deadpan.

Shouts are heard from down the hallway, and when Leonard and YN return to room 423, they are out of breath.

“Nyota, are you all right?”

“What happened in here?”

Both YN and Leonard ask at the same time. After Nyota and Jim tell their story and the bad news about the fire escape, the other half of their group do the same along with the good news about the discovery of salt.

“I don’t get why this thing would tell us to get out if it’s keeping us here in the first place,” Bones questions. By now it is past two in the morning and you’ve all been trapped on the fourth floor for hours, growing more tired of this place by the second.

“What if something else is keeping us here? You said the doctor didn’t act aggressively, and the teen that was also trapped here was only scared by the apparition he saw, and couldnt get out when he tried to run. What if it is a completely separate entity locking the doors?” Nyota hypothesizes.

“Yeah, but what? We haven’t done anything wrong to any of these spirits,” Jim points out.

“It doesn’t matter,” you speak up. “Vengeful spirits may start out trying to get retribution, but that fixation can drive them crazy, making them forget their purpose, even who they were when they were living. Given enough time, the spirit could turn on a loved one without even knowing or caring if they are innocent or not.” Then you add under your breath, “I should know.”

Len hears your quiet confession though and asks while Ny and Jim venture into their own conversation. “What do you mean 'you should know’” he asks softly.

You sigh sadly before starting to tell your story. “I was little girl when my best friend died in a car accident. We were really close, and we lived right beside each other. When I started seeing her around both our houses I just thought she was coming to keep me company. I would still tell her everything, and she would listen. I guess as I grew up, I started living my life as I was supposed to, and she was angry that she never got to. I started to notice that, even though it had been almost eight years since her death, Janice wasn’t the same as she used to be. Whenever I told her something new that happened to me that week, she would get angry and things would start flying. She wasn’t the same girl that I used to know, and I knew it. I stopped talking to her and eventually she stopped visiting me. When I graduated high school I wanted to know more, so I started digging, and found out a lot of information about things that I didn’t even know exist. I started hunting and I haven’t looked back since, I just hope Janice found her peace.”

After you’re finished, Leonard looks at you with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, YN.” You wave away his concerns and plaster on a smile. You busy yourself with looking through your duffel bag to avoid awkward conversation, instead pulling out your tire iron. Len looks at you curiously and you answer his un-asked question. “Iron, it also keeps away ghosts. Just swing it at their body and they should leave for a few minutes.”

Bones raised his eyebrows and replied with a simple “Gotcha.”

You straightened up when you heard what sounded like a scream coming from the corridor. “Guys?”

“We heard it,” Jim spoke.

“It was only a matter of time before something else came at us. Should we go see who it is this time,” Uhura asked rhetorically. You picked up the tire iron that you had previously sat on the bed beside you, handing it to Leonard and standing up, grabbing and loading your gun.

“Let’s go then.”

Nyota follows your actions and places another iron in Jim’s hand and followed you into the hall. You follow the sounds to one end of the building and end up on the other end of the building, in the surgery wing. The wails were getting louder and more frequent, high pitched almost like a child shrieking in pain.

The screams were the loudest when you reached the minor surgery room, forcing you to cover your ears. As soon as all four of you are inside the room, the wails stop and the door slams shut. Kirk’s eyes widen and he bites his lip. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that wasn’t the wind.”

“Nope,” you say, popping the last sylabil.

“Great, now we’re stuck in an even smaller space. Just what my claustrophobia needed,” Len’s grumbles reach your ears, making you smile genuinely this time.

A beam of light shines beside you, startling you. “Sorry,” Ny apologizes but you also pull out your flashlight.

You walk in circles around the room while the others look around, blatantly avoiding the operating table in the center of the room. It was on one of these passes that you see it. You were sweeping your light across the ceiling, inspecting the cobwebs when your eyes move past. You do a double take and almost fall over in shock.

“What the…” you whisper, not able to find your voice.

“What?” NY asks, following your line of sight to where the creature currently was on the ceiling.

You walk backwards, bumping into Leonard who was behind you. He puts his hand on your waist to keep you steady while you recall something you had read in an article online. “The creeper.”

“The creeper? I thought that thing left in the 60s!” Jim gasped as everybody’s eyes followed the shadow crawling across the ceiling.

The creeper was on all fours, moving in an animalistic manner, coming to a rest above the operating table.

You were the first to take action, shooting a salt round into it, making it disappear. "So I’m guessing that’s what’s trapping us here.”

“I’m guessing you’re right,” Nyota walks to your side, examining the spot that the 'thing’ was just moments ago.

“Am I the only one here that doesn’t know what the heck "the creeper” is?“ Bones makes air quotes with his fingers.

"The creeper is a manifestation of energy that first appeared in 1967. According to eyewitness accounts, it materialized to protect a young boy that was being subjected to electroshock therapy, protecting him when the machine was set too high, almost killing the boy,” you supply.

“It stayed behind after they stopped the shocks, protecting the boy from bullies in the facility and supposedly left when Shadow Eyes did. I don’t know why it’s back though,” Jim added.

Uhura sent it away again with a spray of rock salt. “I’ve read reports that its been seen around the sanatorium, but it didn’t do anything like this.”

“So it’s unpredictable. Awesome. How do we get out of here,” Len asks.

“I have an idea, but I can’t guarantee any positive results. It could just piss it off.”

“Do whatever you have to,” Kirk voices what everybody is thinking and you nod.

When the creeper shows up again just minutes later and stalking towards you more aggressively, you shout the first thing on your mind to keep it from hurting Nyota, who it was closest to.

“Shadow Eyes!” It pauses its movements but resumes just seconds later, so you try again. “We’re not trying to hurt Shadow Eyes, or you. We know that you came here to protect Richard all those years ago, but now we’re trapped here, just like he was.”

The creeper stops moving and turns its attention fully to you. You continue to speak once you see this, still holding your weapon aloft just in case.

“Richard’s parents had him brought here and he couldn’t leave. He was here for three weeks and I can only imagine how that must have felt, but you don’t have to protect him now. Shadow Eyes is safe. You were his guardian but he doesn’t need you for that anymore. Please, just let us leave. If you let us leave and not hurt anyone else, we won’t come back.”

Your words have their effect and you watch as the darkness around the creature disappears, and reveals the spirit of a woman in a nurse’s uniform. She gives you a grateful smile and speaks in a kind voice. “Thank you for reminding me of who I was.” You nod in acknowledgement and see her leave one final time, disappearing into a cloud of white.

You are able to leave the operating room and gather your stuff from room 423, finally making your way down the stairs and outside while it is still dark. You load yours and Nyota’s duffel bags into the trunk, then lean against your car, watching as Nyota and Jim say goodbye a few feet away. Leonard comes over to your side and copies your stance, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That was pretty impressive in there, you saved us all.”

“That was nothing,” you say humbly.

“Really, YN. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t remember all that stuff about Shadow Eyes,” Len insists.

“Well, thank you,” you reply, tucking a loose strand of hair behind you ear.

“Maybe tonight, after we’ve all had showers and some rest, we can meet up and have some of those mint juleps I’ve heard so much about,” you suggest biting your lip and Leonard’s eyes follow the movement.

“I’d like that darlin’,” he replies.

“Good. I’ll see you later, Bones,” you give him a wink and a kiss to the corner of his mouth, sliding into the driver’s seat as Ny opens the passenger side door.

“Bye Nyota,” Jim accentuates her first name, cheekily reminding her that he did learn it without her having to tell him. "Call me?”

“We’ll see,” she replies but by the smile on her face there is a real possibility of her doing so.

You exchange goodbyes for now and turn around in the long drive, seeing out of the corner of your eye, a shadow figure watching you leave from the fourth floor. You bid adieu to Waverly Hills Sanatorium, and leave the grounds, hopefully for good. With the creeper gone you know that future visitors will be safe, and that’s all that you could hope for.

~

(”Bila shaka hatuwezi kuondoka” = “Of course we can’t leave” in Swahili)


End file.
